No Food Limits

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Books by K J Foxhall

Sea Shepherd UK

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Thanks to the likes of the Petition Sight, You Sign, Change.org and a few others, we have seen an increase of petitions taken out by just about anyone in a short space of time, leading to the question are these encouraging unsubstantiated ‘witch-hunts’?

This question was raised in one of the Cats Protection League forums on Facebook when a petition was released asking that Sara Giffs Giffards from Swansea, Wales be prosecuted for putting her cat in a pet carrier and placing it in a bath filled with water after it ate her pizza.

She then posted it on Facebook along with a picture.

PLEASE READ THE REST OF THIS BEFORE YOU REACT.

In the alongside post she expresses her annoyance at her cat for eating a whole pizza she had ordered which cost her £15. Therefore to punish the cat, she puts it in the carrier and places it in the bath. Included within the post are several C words which will not be displayed here, along with ‘have a bath to go with your pizza u fat s***”.

In the photo you cannot actually see the cat in the carrier, which technically means there is no actual evidence against Ms. Giffard, and for all we know there was no cat in the carrier, but as one can imagine this has gone viral.

In the space of a few days this post and screenshot of said post has been shared on a wider level. Ms. Giffard has been scrutinized by animal lovers through private messages, friend requests and general followers – she has even been paid a visit by the RSPCA and police because of the outcry.

To say she is more than annoyed now I suppose would be an understatement.

There have been further comments that suggest this was a joke in poor taste, however this has not given this young lady leniency.

Whether this was a joke or not, and as Ms. Giffard mentions in her following Facebook posts, the cat was submerged at knee height, therefore there was little risk.

I think this would be the opportune moment to revisit a similar situation back in 2010, where Mary Bale was fined £250 for picking up cat Lola by the scruff of the neck and placing her in a wheelie bin outside of the cat owners’ house.

Bale received hate mail and even death threats for what she deemed at the time as being ‘a joke’ but sorely regretted it later.

What we need to realise is that we are under the spotlight more than ever before. With social, professional and many other sites, we document everything. I have even been condemned for having an opinion on Facebook, and it seems unless you quantify your reasons behind your opinions, then you will be persecuted, however I have found that even if you do provide substance to your opinions and/or actions most will still not read them. As a society run by technology we fail to look beyond the text that we scan, not read, and see the other point of view.

While I do not condone what Ms. Giffard did whether it is real or a joke, she has been targeted and while the RSPCA and police were not concerned following this visit to her house, we need to perhaps look at things from every angle before we react.

Understandably this may result in neglect for the urgent situations but a young woman has been boycotted here, for basically being really careless with her posts.

If you agree that Ms. Giffard should be prosecuted then you can sign the petition below: